1. A Genetic Link
Wilms Tumor is a rare form of childhood cancer. About 500 children develop Wilms tumor each year, most before the age of 5. In spite of its rare occurrence, researchers have identified genetic changes that increase a child's risk of developing the cancer. These changes are associated with other diseases and conditions, so children managing these health problems can receive screening tests to catch Wilms Tumor at an early stage when treatment may cure it. Parents of children diagnosed with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, hemihypertrophy, aniridia or a constellation of problems labeled the WAGR syndrome should ask the child's doctor about screening the kidneys with ultrasound as frequently as four times a year to watch for changes indicating cancer.
2. Watch For These Symptoms
It's often difficult for doctors to make a Wilms Tumor diagnosis in the cancer's early stages because it most commonly occurs in children too young to report symptoms. However, parents can watch for certain signs. If you notice an unusual lump, swelling in the abdomen, blood in the urine or an enduring fever with no other signs of illness, tell the doctor. If the doctor confirms the presence of a tumor on the kidney, the child will need surgery to determine whether the tumor is cancerous.
3. How Serious is the Cancer?
After the Wilms Tumor diagnosis, the doctor must determine the stage or extent of the disease. A pathologist will examine the cancer cells under a microscope to gauge the abnormality of the cancer cells. Patients with very abnormal cancer cells have an anaplastic Wilms Tumor, and receive more aggressive treatments than patients who have a favorable Wilms Tumor. The doctor uses imaging tests, such as ultrasound, CAT scan and X-rays, to determine if the cancer has spread beyond the kidney to nearby tissues, lymph nodes or other organs in the body. Based on this discovery, the doctor assigns the cancer a stage of one to five.
4. Treatment Choices Yield Results
Depending on the extent of the cancer, Wilms Tumor patients may have surgery to remove some or all of the kidney. Patients can then have further treatment to decrease the chance that the cancer will return. Additional treatment options include radiation therapy, chemotherapy or biological therapy, which stimulates the patient's immune system to fight the cancer.
5. Consider the Promise of Research
Wilms Tumor is rare, so doctors are evaluating new ways of treating it. Clinical trials evaluate new drugs, treatment methods and innovative ways of administering the standard drugs for Wilms Tumor. The doctor facilitates a patient's enrollment into clinical trials, so parents can ask their child's doctor if this is an option after the diagnosis.
